Tell us why you became a teacher

I became a teacher because I wanted to make a difference in society. I original had a successful corporate job, but felt like it wasn’t an impactful career. Growing up I went to a small school k-12 and it was there that I learned how amazing a good teacher can be in someone’s life. I wanted to make a child’s experience of school a memorable one.

Tell us about your most memorable teaching experience

When we had an ELL student who was moving away and leaving our class. We threw him a surprise going away party and made him a book of all of us, each page a picture of him with one of us and then a comment about what we love most about him. The book was in Spanish and English. I sent out an email to the school inviting whomever could make it to show this little guy how important he is in the world. He was so surprised and in that moment I could tell he felt seen, valued, and special!

What would you do with the $25,000?

I have a few possible ideas of how I would spend the $25,000. One would be starting my vision of a summer camping that I’ve been dreaming of that would blend the arts and academics for students. Second would be kickstarting an idea for a children’s book that I’ve wanted to write/publish. Last, would be to help with my student loans.